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Do you get a guilty feeling if you pull your kids out of school?


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Do I feel guilty? Not at all. We love vacationing with our two boys and seeing the sights through their eyes is so wonderful. Every year we do a trip with the boys and one without (Grandparents take them yearly for a week w/o us - their preference!).

 

We like to vacation to warm places and the summer months can be very hot in the Caribbean. DH and I just did a Tulum tour in Mexico just a few weeks ago and could not imagine bringing the boys in that heat... it would have to happen in the cooler months, which means taking them out of class.

 

There is so much to learn out there in the world that can be learned by seeing and touching... not just in books. We have been fortunate to have teachers who understand that family-time is soooo important today (the Principal is a different story, but oh well, family comes first). As long as their schoolwork is up to date, no problems!

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I booked for freedom 8-13-06....I did this after consideration that school here in texas is going to start after labor day starting that year (which is also my daughters senior year)....it ticks her off because she will be in school until june....but she does get to go on an awesome cruise to start off her senior year...

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Rachel, I couldn't agree with you more on the heat. We live close to the ships that do the Caribbean cruises so that's what type of cruises we do because of expenses. I can only imagine my kids in the caribbean during the summer heat.:eek:

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are the proud parents of 3 girls. The oldest is now 10 and has missed 10 days of school each year in December. Her grades have always been A's with a seldom seen B. I believe she has had some advantages over her classmates. When they study history of other countries, she has been to them and is able to describe things that are not in the books. Why do we do December? We've found the first two weeks in December consists of getting ready for the Christmas program, making lists for Santa's Workshop, and watching alot of movies, yes movies! We believe she gets more education with us than she would in those 10 days. (She can already sing Jingle Bells) We are able to see twice as much in December, due to short lines and limited crowds. This is another advantage to vacationing in off season. For those adults who would rather cruise with no children, there are options. I know of cruise lines that cater to adults, which we avoid, not because we don't believe in adult cruises, but because we believe you have a right to cruise w/o children, if one so desires. Happy Vacationing to All!

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I am having a hard time booking a cruise with my 8yo for a week that he has school. I know he will only be in 3rd grade, and it probably won't prevent him from attending an Ivy League school when he gets older, but I can't help but have this guilty feeling like I am being a bad parent. How do you get past the feeling?

 

I started 5 years ago taking my son out of school for a cruise to Mexico in Oct., then 3 years ago the school started having a break in Oct., so he was not missing school. Now he started 7th grade and they do not have a break in Oct. but the price was so good on Celebrity this Oct. I could not help myself so I am taking him out of school again for a week. We have never had a problem, with the school. I let the school know in advance. The school gave him all of his work before we left. I made the mistake the first year of bringing the homework on the cruise and he was always so busy he did not want to do it and I did not make him. To make a long story short, he was bogged down all day Sat. & Sun. with homework. Now we ask early and get the work done before we go.

 

Susie

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We took our daughter out of school for a 5 day cruise in Oct of 03, she ended up with Saturday school because of the "no child left behind act" :mad: I even gave the school a months notice on work, but because they are only allowed to miss 4 days a quarter she had saturday school...have not done that since as she had to serve it right before thansgiving break and also was not allowed to participate in the school "fun day" for missing 1 to many days

guess parents have no say in what thier kids do these days

Bonnie

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We took our daughter out of school for a 5 day cruise in Oct of 03, she ended up with Saturday school because of the "no child left behind act" :mad: I even gave the school a months notice on work, but because they are only allowed to miss 4 days a quarter she had saturday school...have not done that since as she had to serve it right before thansgiving break and also was not allowed to participate in the school "fun day" for missing 1 to many days

guess parents have no say in what thier kids do these days

Bonnie

 

First of all, I can't believe this thread is still going :rolleyes: .

 

Nacoochee - how old was your daughter when you did this? That is awful to hear.

 

We have cruised both times in the summer. We were going to cruise in September this year, but changed back to August at almost the last minute, and I am very glad we did. Yes the weather was hot in August but it will probably be hot in September too. My daughter is a Sophomore this year and cannot afford to miss her honors classes for 4 or 5 days. It would be just too much to make up afterschool, and she has other activities that she wants to do after school. I guess it all depends on your children and their ages. Happy cruising everyone!

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Hi Gabs

she was in 8th grade she is now a sophomore as is your daughter. No more being taken out of school, but now we have a week off everyother month with the new school calender so it is easier to get good deals on family vacations

It just bothered me that I gave the school that much notice to get school work for her to do while we were gone and she still got Sat school and it was a family reunion cruise (27 aunts, uncles cousins & grandparents). ...guess parents have no say anymore.....just to bad the school had to make a family thing be not worthy <sigh> is the way things go I guess

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I'm glad that the vast majority of us aren't letting what mr. blahars said dictate how we raise our kids. It sounds as if most of the posters here are caring parents who want their children to experience travel. Passing judgement about parenting is best left to child psychologists who have been trained for many years and parents themselves.

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For a great time, go to the RCCI board - someone just posted a complaint about a pax who had brought on a service dog that was being trained. The fur is really flying! (and of course the topic of kids has been brought up again - "I'd rather have dogs than brats on board!")

 

My point is that there are some folks who are looking for things to complain about - while I say we should be looking for things to celebrate! Life's too short and I love my kid too much not to share my life with her.

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I will be taking my kids out of school in November to take them on their first cruise and I don't feel guilty at all. Both my children (DD is in 7th grade and DS is in 5th grade) are straight A kids. I told all the teachers back in January that I was doing this and none of them had a problem. My kids will have to make up some work while they're gone but they'll be fine.

 

Because the cruise is during school I told them I wanted them to do some research about the places we'll be visiting. Figure about 2-3 paragraphs on each of the 4 ports of call and then they would keep a journal while actually on the cruise. They could then share this with their teachers and classmates when they get back. Well my problem is that getting them to do the research has been a major pain even though I told them what was expected last spring and urged them to get it done over the summer. Well of course they didn't do it and my DS has now begun to gripe about even going on the cruise. Am I pushing too hard??? Should I just let them do the journal and call it a day?? I thought finding out about the places and things we would see and do would get them more excited about the trip but not sure that's the case.

 

 

Any suggestions???

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Hi

I would have them just do the Journal....maybe you could give them info at the dinner table on each of your ports of call to peak their interest.

For their Journal...give them each a disposable camera to take pictures of things they find of interest and then each day have them write in their journal about what they did, what they saw and what they thought.

I think they may enjoy doing that and will have looking back at it when they are older

Hope you have a good time

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Absolutely not. My parents took me out of school as there are so many experiences beyond the class room. Vacations are good for the family, the marriage, and the soul. I would not expect college kids to break their schedule...but young kids will do fine. I tell my kids when we are going and let teachers know early and get them ahead...Have fun. Karyn

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Guilty about taking children out of school to get a chance to see other ways of life, edjucate themselves on new cultures, seeing the great ocean and tropical islands that they would have never had a chance to living in upstate New York. Not one bit. Have a daughter thats a senior, sophmore son and 7th grade son. We are going on the Thanksgiving cruise out of NJ.

I do not care what the school thinks, my kids all have good grades, (daughters an honor student) during hunting season, my sons always miss openinig day from school and I write right on there excuse that they were hunting, they learn more in a day about nature than they will one day in school.

With life so hectic now, schools changed so much from when I was there, My kids have earned the right to go explore a few days out from there normal life.

What will the kids remember more, staying home a week and going to school, or things they saw on the islands, the ship and the new people they meet and become friends with. What is worth more?

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  • 4 weeks later...

I agree 100%! We are a military family with 2 girls, one in middle school and the other in high school. While stationed overseas we didn't think twice about taking them out of school, while taking road trips. We even did an AIDA cruise which was mostly German. At the time they were much younger, and I didn't realize the impact it would have on their school work once they were older. Let me tell you, in History, English and other classes , they always say "Been there, done that" They usually bring in all types of picture and slides to show the class. I think that traveling all over the world has enriched their life far more than any text book.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We will be taking our 8yr old son out of school first week after new years break. We are take advantage of a 10 day eastern caribbean cruise that leaves on the Jan 2. No way we could have had him miss two weeks; but one week is just fine. My son spend so much time at school and when he gets home there's homework. Dad goes to work at off hours just to not get stuck in Traffic! There is just not enough time spent together as a family. This will be FAMILY TIME and I think that is the most important!

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We will be taking our 8yr old son out of school first week after new years break. We are take advantage of a 10 day eastern caribbean cruise that leaves on the Jan 2. No way we could have had him miss two weeks; but one week is just fine. My son spend so much time at school and when he gets home there's homework. Dad goes to work at off hours just to not get stuck in Traffic! There is just not enough time spent together as a family. This will be FAMILY TIME and I think that is the most important!

 

good point i two was takan out off skool for vacations and i turnd out just fine i bet you were to

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good point i two was takan out off skool for vacations and i turnd out just fine i bet you were to

:eek: :eek:

You may think your comment is funny, but I think it's extremely tacky.:rolleyes: There are many loving, concerned parents here giving each other a little moral support. Is is really necessary to berate them like that? :mad:

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I found this thread to be quite interesting. I am a 7th grade teacher and am sad that I can not cruise during the cheaper off-season myself. I agree with some of the others that there are ways to make a vacation during the school year easier on everyone. It is VERY important that students be in school during FTE (where they count attendance for funding - it is a full week in October here in FL) and during all testing periods. You should also be sure that they do not miss the first and last 2 weeks of school due to pre- and post- tests for leveling. These dates are published years in advance and can easily be found out by checking with your school. My school publishes this information on our website. The school will be forthcoming with the information because they need the student to be there. I also agree that it is important to check in with the child's teacher(s). Nothing is more irritating than a student "disappearing" for a week or so and then reappearing to let me know they have been on a vacation that has been planned for months. I teach a fast-paced class and students miss a lot being out for a week. I do give alternative assignments for students that let me know ahead of time that they will be out. I also give consideration to where they are going and what they are doing when I make up the assignments.

Having travelled extensively with my family as I grew up, I have a lot of respect for what a child can gain from a family vacation. That is why I do my best to accommodate students that travel during the school year. That being said, I strongly disagree with those that believe that missing a week of school is not that big of a deal. If your child is struggling, that may be a consideration in choosing which time of year to go. If you have a child that is excelling in school, a trip is a great reward and enrichment to learning. I also will let you know that many of my collegues (I would say the majority) frown upon school-year travel.

I definitely do not want to start a debate and I certainly did not want to write a book but I want to be sure that you heard another perspective.

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It's nice to hear that teachers can be flexible too. There is such more stress on teachers, on students, on parents because of all this testing. I wish TPTB can come up with an alternative to testing all of the kids each year. I don't think the long-term effects have been considered. IMO, students are being taught to take tests, rather than love learning, in many situations. Hopefully, more teachers and administrators will come to understand the difference.

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As a teacher, I would not be worried, unless the child has not had any progress during the year so far. In the latter case, I do not approve a prearranged absence until I have the parents come in for a PTC, in which I go over the child’s progress and the parents sign a current progress notice. I teach high school and will do this to students that have a 70% or below. If the student is an A/B student I do not have an issue with him taking a vacation during the school year, often times, they will bring back nice treats! :D

 

As a parent, I had to take my son out for three days last year during his Kindergartner year for our cruise and will do the same this year (1st grade). I told his teacher at the beginning of the year and during our conference. She seemed to not have a concern or issue and mentioned that he may make up his work when he gets back.

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I am almost afraid to post here, after reading some of the previous debates...

 

My children attend a private school. The stated policy is that absences due to vacation are considered UNexcused, and the missed work cannot be made up for credit. I would love to be able to take vacations during the academic year when the prices are lower, but I must respect the school policy. My oldest and I have discussed what a shame it is that we can't take a cruise in January, but he understands that we made a commitment when we chose the school, and we have to stick by it.

 

So, we take our vacations during school breaks. Yes, it is more expensive, but such is life. I do feel that my kids are learning not only that school is important, but that when you make a commitment (such as we made by attending this particular school) it is important to stick to it.

 

I think each parent needs to make the decision they feel is best. If your children attend a school that allows trips during the academic year, and you abide by whatever rules the school has about it, then go ahead and have fun. In this busy world, sometimes vacations are a family's best way to re-connect and spend time together. Everything is a balance.

 

In our case, my DH and I have gone to extensive lengths to ensure that we have plenty of time with our kids. I do IT consulting from home and can pick them up after school. My DH has turned down promotions and other job opportunities to keep overtime to a minimum, so he is home for dinner every night and has weekends free. We eat together as a family at least 6 nights in the week.

 

We took a spring break cruise a couple of years ago, and it was very educational. My son came back from the Mayan excursion just bursting with excitement about all the neat things he learned. He returned from spring break with some interesting things to share.

 

Oh, and I DID take them out of school for a vacation once. My in-laws live in England and they were coming to the US for a visit. We met them in Orlando for a week. The school was kind enough to make an exception for us because the kids don't get to see their grandparents much. However, both kids had assignments to complete while we were gone.

 

I think every family is different, and as long as the kids grow up to respect themselves and others, contribute to society, and buy nice cars and houses for their old parents (ha ha), then it's all fine in the end.

 

Ilean

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Regarding the children not missing school...because 'it's their job'.......School is not my children's job......School is part of a team, I as their first and foremost educator, have put together for them. This team includes educators I choose to teach them academically, spiritually, physically, arts, and culture.........a very well rounded education. I am their parent. I decide what's best for them.......I budget what we can afford for them at different stages of their life........sometimes they get swimming lessons....sometimes mad science....sometimes...the running club.....sometimes travel....and so far my results have produced well rounded, great kids with great values!

 

Brava! Very well put.

 

I have and will continue to pull my son from school for a number of reasons that I consider for his educational betterment. I have pulled him to go to the exhibit of the Constitution when it was in town, to go to Chicago for his b-day where we went to several museums, to N'awlins for Mardi Gras (okay that one is for fun and to visit our relatives). Our teachers do the best they can, but if I see an oportunity that they can't take advantage of for the whole class, then I will take advantage of it for my son! So if you're going to be on the Legend 1/14/05, my skipping-school-kid will be joining you...you might want to re-book now. LOL :D

 

On a slightly different note...in our county, even if there is advance notice and warning, if the child is absent for anything other than illness it is considered an UNEXCUSED absence. I am quite proud of my annual letter stating that my son has 10 unexcused absenses and is considered truant. I will be more than glad to explain it should they ever choose to call me to court!

 

A...

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